Fireworks
by TRIGGER M00NSHIELD
Summary: Amidst the destruction of the world, Deidara brings peace of mind to the Akatsuki


The Akatsuki minus Deidara, all sat in the lounge room, each holding a scrap of paper advertising the same thing:

_Come to the shed I use to make my explosives at around 9pm tonight.  
_  
Sasori narrowed his eyes at the paper in suspicion  
"Well… Either the brat has finally lost it and wants to blow us all sky high… Or we are being targeted by enemy shinobi who have Deidara captive…"

Itachi raised his hand slowly and in a monotonous voice murmured,

"I vote he has lost it."

His claim was met by a few nods and hidden grins of amusement before Konan drew their attention to the backs of their paper slips.

"Konan, it will be a good chance to get all close to Pein" she read slowly.  
_Oh god what has this kid planned…?  
_  
"Well I think we should go…" Kakuzu announced happily.

Kisame glared at him suspiciously, "What does yours say…?

"It will be a nice night…"

"No it doesn't." Zetsu read over his shoulder, "It says "I have the location of several shinobi with large bounties on their heads.""

Kakuzu snatched the paper away and shoved it inside his shirt pocket in frustration.  
Looking over his shoulder and noticing Itachi hiding his slip of paper, he called, "Itachi, what does yours say?"

Jumping slightly at the fact someone was acknowledging him, Itachi glanced over before slowly withdrawing his paper.  
He dropped it once, twice, and then gradually cleared his throat before moving his gaze to the scrawled writing on his paper.  
He squinted and brought it close to his face, tilting it left and right trying to make sense of it.  
Tobi stumbled over to Itachi and read, "If you don't come tonight, I will know you couldn't read this."

"We're going." Itachi stated immediately.

"Hang on a second. I call the shots here and I say we are going!"

Pein seemed oblivious to how childish his statement sounded.  
Rolling his eyes, Hidan called, "Tobi! What does yours say mother fucker?"

"I had a spare piece of paper, don't fuck anything up and stay away from my shed."

At 8:30 the group set off towards Deidaras tumble down old shed, mildew grew in abundance on a large haystack long abandoned that resided next to it.  
Pein had made sure Deidara chose a location that was a fair distance from the secret base as there was no doubt as to what he would be doing down there.  
It was an old decrepit building, half collapsed on one side and sporting scorch marks along one wall, it was a miracle it had somehow survived.

Deidara had found it in their weekly scout and had asked Pein immediately if he could use it for his own means.  
Pein had agreed without hesitation, mainly because he felt uncomfortable with the amount of explosive material and clay that Deidara was bringing home each night.

A ladder was set up along the back side of the haystack and a makeshift arrow had been spray painted on the decrepit hay, pointing them up the ladder.  
After suspicious looks and skeptical thoughts, they climbed one by one until they all sat comfortably along the edge of the hay.  
An old rug had been laid out on top so that they wouldn't get dirty and Deidara had equipped them all with cans of sugary drinks and bags of chips which tasted heavenly given their junk food deprived state.

The sun had set and the sky was clear, the smog for once settling down for the night and allowing them access to the heavens.  
The silence was broken when a loud bang emitted from a spot a few hundred meters in front of them.  
Everyone jumped and for a second, Itachi's silly story about Deidara being captured by enemies ran through everyones minds again until they saw it.

A spark as large as a basketball court exploded in the air high above them. The colors changed from red to green in a marvelous display of light.  
After the initial explosion, the sparks fizzled and descended towards the ground, extinguished long before they touched Earth.  
No one jumped at the second explosion. Just gazed up in awe at the makeshift fireworks Deidara had created for them.

Blue, red, green, yellow, purple…

The temporary light lit up the sky in flashes and bursts making the beauty of the stars seem insignificant in contrast.  
Though before them on the ground, the Earth lay in ruins, Deidara had managed to get everyone to temporarily forget the world, and gaze up at the heavens, though sometimes clouded, untouched, unchanging and beautiful in its simplicity.

Konan smiled. Each spark reminding her of the people she loved, the fire and life that still burned within them all. The most basic instinct, to stay alive, ran deep and hard through their veins. In each spark she saw people she had once known, people she had sentenced to death, and people she would never see again.

Relief washed over her as she felt the harbored guilt ebb away. Each small explosion a life in its own right, reminded her of everyone who had ever impacted on her life.  
She could almost see their faces…  
A single tear of happiness, sadness and self-forgiveness paved its way down her delicate face.

15 minutes on and no one had said a word. There was no need. The small act of enjoying a fireworks show brought more peace of mind to them all than any of them would have ever imagined.  
How long had it been since any of them had enjoyed something so innocent, so simple?

No one realized how much they missed the old world of their youth, the carnivals and festivals, the bustling of the crowds, being able to fit in without having to say a word.  
Not having to worry about looking different or feeling left out because where you were, everyone was different and no one was ever forgotten.  
Deidara had climbed up the ladder behind them towards the end, deciding to let the last of the fireworks set themselves off, and dropped himself down in between Sasori and Kisame.

They glanced down fondly at his juvenile face, unaware of their stares. Kisame and Sasori met eyes and they smiled.  
Any regrets Sasori may have had in being partnered with Deidara, which were few and far between as it was, were long forgotten and pushed aside. Despite the argument about art that would inevitably follow, Deidara had just done more for all of them than he would ever know.

The final firework sparked and ignited, its stream seen faintly soaring heaven bound until it sparked and exploded, a deep purple turning crimson and fading into black as it died out.

Gradually they began to stand and leave, half eaten chip packets and empty cans littering the top of the hay stack.  
Deidara was the last to jump down and he grinned at them knowingly; as if he knew all along that the only thing he needed to do to make things better, was to refine his explosive personality into a burst of color.

"Deidara…"

The blonde boy turned and faced Sasori who gave him a ghost of a smile and nodded his head.

"Thank you."


End file.
